White House spokesman: "We don't twist our hands, we don't push and we don't cajole." Germany, he says, has "its own process" for Leopard tanks

Commenting on the results of the meeting in Ramstein in an interview with "Voice of America", the coordinator of strategic communication of the White House on matters of national security and defense, John Kirby, said that in the matter of providing tanks to Ukraine, "Germany is going through its own process regarding Leopard tanks."

"We don't twist our hands, we don't push and we don't persuade. We want countries to give what they can, when they can and where they can, and in the size and scale that suits them. And it is up to Germany to decide," Kirby emphasized.

""We are aware that Germany is developing its own method for the Leopard tanks, which are excellent tanks with a lot of power and won't require a lot of training from theUkrainians if Germany wants to move in that direction. But this question is key. This is Germany's decision," he said.

v
He added that Germany has increased its contributions, which it started making at the beginning of the war, and is "one of the world's leading financial donors to Ukraine in terms of financial aid," and the allies "highly appreciate" this.

"We believe that it is important that every nation that can support Ukraine in its defense should do so right now. One of the critical needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine this winter and probably in the spring will be armored vehicles. Because of the types of warfare they are waging in Donbas, which may or may not include tanks, although the Ukrainians have a real need for additional tanks,” Kirby said.

On Saturday, January 21, the foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania called on Germany to provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine as soon as possible.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, Urmas Reinsalu, and his colleagues from Latvia, Edgars Rinkkevics, and Lithuania, Gabrielus Landsbergis, emphasized in a joint statement that Ukraine needs the tanks in order to quickly restore peace in Europe, and that Germany bears "a special responsibility in this matter." .

"Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian foreign ministers demand that Germany immediately provide Ukraine with Leopard tanks. Stopping Russian aggression, assisting Ukraine, and quickly restoring peace in Europe all require this. Germany, as a leading European state, bears special responsibility in this matter," the ministers wrote on Twitter.

Yesterday, on Friday, January 20, at the American Air Force Base Ramstein, at the eighth meeting of representatives of the member states of the Contact Group on the Defense of Ukraine, a new package of aid to Ukraine was agreed, which included additional missiles of the "surface-to-surface" class, air defense systems, artillery installations and armored vehicles.

Before the start of the meeting, many observers expected that a principled decision on the supply of German Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine would be made at it. It was about supply either directly from Germany or with its consent for re-export from other countries. However, this decision was not taken.

On the other hand, Germany also did not refuse to supply tanks to Ukraine. Observers believe that a decision is obviously being prepared. The new Minister of Defense of Germany, Boris Pistorius, ordered the ministry to conduct an audit of the fleet of Leopard tanks, both those that are in service with the Bundeswehr and those that are still with the manufacturers.

As "Voice of America" ​​reported, a separate meeting of representatives of the countries that own German-made Leopard 2 tanks in Europe, including Turkey, Austria, Denmark, Canada, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, was held as part of Ramstein. Sweden and Spain.